Dating Him

Chapter 19: The Trip

KAYLA'S POV

Miss you - KC

I just leave him on read.

"Look at this." Kayden says showing me a flyer from our local church about a weekend volunteer trip. I grab the flyer and read it. It was a church trip down to Mexico to help build houses for the less fortunate. "That looks like an amazing opportunity." My mom says reading the flyer. "Let's go!" Kayden suggests. "What? I've only been home a week and you want to leave?" I ask. "Kay c'mon this is perfect for us. It'll take your mind off you know and we can spend time together while helping the less fortunate." Kayden says. When he puts it that way, it does sound pretty enticing. "I can't. I don't wanna leave mom alone." I say. "Honey. I'll be fine. Your dad is right here." She says rubbing my back. "Yeah. Go! It will be good for you and your brother." My dad says joining the conversation.

I take the day to think about it and during dinner the topic came up again. "Well, I'm gonna go. I want to do something to give back to others for all the damage I've cost us." Kayden says eating his food. "Go with your brother sweetheart." My mom says. "You both can makeup for all the lost time." Dad says chiming in. "C'mon its just a weekend." Kayden says nudging my arm. I hesitate. "Sounds like a plan." I say and they all cheer.

The next day, we pack our stuff and my parents drop us off at church. We check in with the rest with the rest of the members. I haven't been back for awhile so I don't remember most of the members, but they seem to remember Kayden. I didn't know he was that involved.

The leaders announce where we will be staying and our itinerary for the next couple of days and the bus takes off.

Stay safe and have fun! - Dad

Always here if u need to talk! Also I had another encounter with a KAREN today... tell u bout it when u come back -Danny

miss u! LA isn't the same without u -Stassie

I turn off my phone. "You okay?" Kayden asks. "yeah." I say softly. "Do you wanna talk about it?" Kayden asks. I shake my head and just look out the window the rest of the way. I don't understand myself. Even when I don't want to think about him, he crawls his way into my thoughts. I shiver hoping the feelings will just go away.

After two hours and a plane ride, we arrive at our destination. Kayden helps me lug our stuff to our hotel room. When we get settled in, they call us for dinner.

"So ladies and gentlemen, tomorrow we will join a group from another parish. This way we can work more diligently." The leader says. He hands out our instructions of where to meet and how to dress for tomorrow.

"Ready for tomorrow?" Kayden asks. "Yeah!" I say excitedly. "So how are you so popular with the parishioners?" I ask quizzically. "I meant it when I told you I want to get better." He says. "I'm impressed. What made you wanna get better?" I ask. "Mom getting sick, you leaving, other stuff." He says, but doesn't care to elaborate on the "other stuff". We say goodnight and then rest for the bright and early day tomorrow.

"We gotta go. Wakeupp." Kayden says shaking me. "Ughhhh." I groan and drag myself out of bed and get ready. We go downstairs for breakfast and then follow the group to the bus that takes us to the site.

"Group A concrete slabs, Group B nail down the frame, and Group C drywall. Let's move it people." He instructs and we all get to our areas and start working. Kayden and I work on nailing the frame along with a couple other older adults.

"Need some help?" We all turn around and see a new group of people. "KC?" I exclaim when I see him amongst the group. He smiles sheepishly. I walk over to him, "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be back in LA." "I missed you and I want to prove to you that I truly love you. I took a couple days off and I brought some friends to help." He says. I look and recognize some of the newbies like Stassie, Billy, Danny, Derek, and KC's family.

"Okay everyone, let's divide into the three groups and continue working." The leader announces. Everyone splits up, but KC sticks next to me. "How did you even know I was here?" I ask nailing. "Your parents." He answers following my lead. "I missed you a lot Kay." He says. I smile. "I might have missed you a teensy bit." I say shrugging. He hugs me while tickling my sides. "I'm sorry. I know it's only been a week, but I couldn't stand being away from you any longer. I know you said you needed space, but I just can't stay away. I love you so much that it physically hurts when we're apart. You're killing me babe." He says with puppy dog eyes. I sigh, "Unfortunately I love you too." Right after the words come out of my mouth, he picks me up and swings me around shouting, "SHE LOVES ME!" Everyone laughs and looks at us due to the commotion.

We continue working on the houses. "How'd you get all these people to come?" I ask. "They wanted to. Plus Derek, something about meeting church girls." He says and rolls his eyes. I chuckle. He's such a playboy. I look over to see Stass and Billy intimately working together. "Stass and Billy?" I ask KC. He shrugs.

That night as we pack up our things my parents call us. I put them on speaker so Kayden can talk too. "Hey how was your trip?" They ask. "Good." Kayden says. "Kayla?" Mom asks. "Mom you outed me to KC!" I say addressing the elephant in the room. I hear them laugh. "Not cool mom." I say. "Honey, he called the house asking if you were okay since you weren't responding. We haven't seen you so heartbroken even after Ryan. We knew that this time it was different and when he explained everything to us the media, lies, pressure regarding your relationship... We just want you to be happy." They say. I sigh. "I am. Thank you. We'll see you when we get home." I say and we say our goodbyes.

Looking back on this trip, he flew all the way to Mexico, brought along a group of people to help build houses just to prove himself to me. I hate to say it, but it made me happy. He makes me happy and I deserve to be happy.